From world leaders to heads of development banks, the destination of choice these days appears to be New Delhi as change-makers attempt to tap in to the sense of optimism that has characterized the development-driven Narendra Modi’s short time in office.

This week sees the arrival in the Indian capital of Sir Suma Chakrabarti, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who will hold meetings with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan, among others, before addressing the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) later this week.

India is not a member of EBRD and the country is outside the bank’s investment remit – despite India considering membership of the bank since the early 1990’s.

India is nevertheless, an important source of private sector funding for EBRD’s investments in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Joint India-EBRD investments up to 31 December 2014 totalled more than 175 million euros (£130 million).

Speaking to the UKAsian ahead of his departure, Kolkata-born Sir Suma spoke about what the EBRD brings to the table, its work in India, the new BRICS bank and Prime Minister Modi’s economic agenda.